Last week my family decided to embark on a road trip through the Great Plains. It was somewhat spontaneous but we all managed to get a couple of days off of work and pack enough things for the "survival" of all six of us (which, might I add, it's no easy task hehehe). My parents rented a van and picked us up Wednesday afternoon. We drove from Wisconsin, through Minnesota, and into South Dakota all in less than eight hours. We checked into the hotel way past midnight and enjoyed some much needed rest before continuing on our adventure. From there we drove to the Badlands where we hiked all day and then set camp in the valley for the night. The rest of our road trip consisted of paying Mt. Rushmore a visit (a FIRST for all of us), driving through dirt roads looking for buffalo, surviving Needles Highway, camping in the Black Hills, and hiking around the Devil's Tower. On Saturday afternoon we drove out of Wyoming to begin our journey back home. We were originally planning on finding a hotel along the way once the sun set but we didn't realize that because of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally EVERY hotel along I-90 would be completely booked. We were forced to drive straight through the night for seventeen hours. Absolutely exhausting, specially for Sean and my dad who took care of all the driving. Three days later and I'm still dragging, sleeping in a bit too late, and bags are still unpacked but despite all that I am eternally grateful for the memories created along those I love most.